ROBBINSVILLE — It was almost like going to a dual match because throughout Saturday much of the attention was centered on the team score in the boys portion of the Colonial Valley Conference Wrestling Championships at Robbinsville High School. In the end it was the closest finish in the history of the tournament as Steinert compiled 235 points to finish a scant one point ahead of second-place Robbinsville’s 234. It was the first time Steinert won the tournament since 1996. It also spoiled Hopewell Valley’s attempt to win the championship for the 16th time in 18 years. Steinert placed six wrestlers in the finals and only two of them won. As it turned out it was enough as Jackson Clarke Goss put a nail into the defending-champion’s coffin by picking up six huge points with a pin of Hopewell’s Isaac MIller in the 150-pound final in a time of 4:24. Marcello Pandolfini (24-2) then really hammered that nail home by pinning Hightstown’s Antonio Arroyo at 165 pounds. Pandolfini’s six points more or less clinched the title because it gave his team a seven-point lead and meant that Robbinsville was not going to be able to catch the Spartans with only one more wrestler in the finals. Steinet’s Marcello Pandolfini, right, takes down Hightstown’s Antonio Arroyo, left, in their 165-pound final at the CVC Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Robbinsville High. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) That wrestler was Tyler Shane (23-4), who pinned Hopewell Valley’s Ethan Barker in the second period at 175. It was not enough to save Robbinsville and it also eliminated Hopewell because it only had Scott Mangan remaining at 190. Mangan lost to Lawrence’s Lawrence’s James Lyons, 14-11, on a takedown late in the third period. Although it finished fifth, it was a good day for Lawrence as it had three champions. They were undefeated Steven Ham (28-0 132), Lyons and heavyweight Zane Spencer (20-1), who also had an exciting final when he topped Ewing’s Cephus Horton, 10-7. For his efforts, Lyons was named the “Outstanding Wrestler.” Pandolfini was not fully aware what his victory would mean when he stepped onto the mat, but he was full of confidence and ready to go. “As soon as I put my toe on the line I knew I was going to win,” he said. “It wasn’t just for myself. I was thinking I knew I had to get the job done for my team.” And what a team it has been for Steinert with nine seniors in its starting lineup. The Spartans lost close dual matches to Robbinsville and Hopewell, but a victory over Hightstown gave them the CVC Colonial Division title. Now it has the CVC Tournament crown as well. “It means a lot,” said Steinert coach Joe Panfili, who was named the winner of the Gary Dambro Coaching Excellence award. “Our program has been trying to catch up to the gold standard in our conference Hopewell Valley with Robbinsville behind them.  It’s been a long time since we won it and we really did it as a team.” An example of this occurred in the fifth-place final when Steinert heavyweight Aidan Constance pinned after falling behind, 7-0. Obviously, those four points were huge at the end. Matt Mattola also provided valuable points by taking a third at 113. He beat the No. 2 seed along the way. While Steinert ended up being the big story, there were plenty of highlights for other teams. Lawrence’s James Lyons reacts after he won the 190-pound final at the CVC Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Robbinsville High. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Robbinsville also had three champs in Alex Viscido (25-1 at 106), Vincent Grippa (22-5 at 113) and Shane, who beat Hopewell’s Barker (20-3) for the second time in a week. Hightstown came home with two gold medals as Jordan Corzo (120) and Chris Florian (126) prevailed in their weights. Also with two champions was Notre Dame. Joey Bonko raised his record to 26-2 by posting a 9-6 decision over Steinert’s Yazin Ahmed at 157 and then Ivan Yultuhovskyi avenged an earlier 17-5 loss by pinning Steinert’s top-seeded Mike Odige in the 215-pound final. This was also a wild bout as Yultuhovskyi was just able to scramble out of a couple of Odige takedown attempts in the third period to break open a close match with his pin. Hopewell Valley’s lone winner was defending champion Dylan Hersh at 138 and West Windsor North had one champ as top-seeded Anderson Reyes came out on top at 144 pounds. Team Scores: 1. Steinert 235; Robbinsville 234; 3. Hopewell Valley 227;  4. Hightstown 198; 5. Lawrence 146; 6. Allentown 127; 7. Notre Dame 120.5; 8. Princeton 75; 9. Hamilton 74; 10. Trenton 68; 11; West Windsor North 64; 12. Notttingham 56; 13. Ewing 37.5; 14. West Windsor South 31.5. FINALS 106-Alexander Viscido (Robbinsville) 25-1 won by fall over Said Jan Rahmani (Hopewell Valley) 17-3 (Fall 0:51)113-Vincent Grippa (Robbinsville) 22-5 won by fall over Justin Sanmartin (Hightstown) 22-8 (Fall 3:29)120-Jordan Corzo (Hightstown) 19-4 won by decision over Vincenzo Baldino (Allentown) 3-1 (Dec 4-3)126- Chris Florian (Hightstown) 27-3 won by fall over Julian Bijaczyk (Steinert) 22-4 (Fall 2:00)132-Steven Ham (Lawrence) 28-0 won by fall over Alex Castano (Steinert) 21-5 (Fall 2:53)138-Dylan Hersh (Hopewell Valley) 22-2 won by major decision over Michael Panzer (Robbinsville) 21-6 (MD 13-3)144-Anderson Reyes (WWP – North) 24-3 won by decision over Colin Fitzgerald (Princeton) 21-7 (Dec 11-5)150-Jackson Clarke Goss (Steinert) 22-6 won by fall over Isaac Miller (Hopewell Valley) 17-5 (Fall 4:24)157-Joey Bonko (Notre Dame) 26-2 won by decision over Yazid Ahmed (Steinert) 22-6 (Dec 9-6)165-Marcello Pandolfini (Steinert) 24-2 won by fall over Antonio Arroyo (Hightstown) 20-9 (Fall 3:06)175-Tyler Shane (Robbinsville) 23-4 won by fall over Ethan Barker (Hopewell Valley) 20-3 (Fall 2:54)190-James Lyons (Lawrence) 25-2 won by decision over Scott Mangan (Hopewell Valley) 22-2 (Dec 14-11)215-Ivan Yultukhovskyi (Notre Dame) 25-2 won by fall over Mickhorisky Odige (Steinert) 22-4 (Fall 5:33)Hvy-Zane Spencer (Lawrence) 20-1 won by decision over Cephus Horton (Ewing) 19-3 (Dec 10-7) CONSOLATION FINALS 106-Dominic Baldino (Allentown) 3-1 won by major decision over Angelo Randolph (Hightstown) 17-13 (MD 21-9)113-Matthew Mottola (Steinert) 15-10 won by major decision over Saif Ali Rahmani (Hopewell Valley) 12-6 (MD 8-0)120-Lucas Messinger (Robbinsville) 18-9 won by decision over Luca Schiavon (Hopewell Valley) 17-7 (Dec 6-5)126-Parker Humphrey (Hopewell Valley) 20-5 won by fall over Dustin Wilson (Allentown) 2-2 (Fall 5:28)132-Andres Zuniga (Trenton Central) 16-5 won by decision over Dylan Somma (Hopewell Valley) 6-4 (Dec 8-6)138-Youssef Shadid (WWP – South) 16-6 won by decision over Anderson Du Brul (Allentown) 2-2 (Dec 10-3)144-Yasin Ahmed (Steinert) 16-8 won by fall over Colin Yuncza (Robbinsville) 10-20 (Fall 2:39)150-Luca Franzen (Notre Dame) 20-7 won by decision over Johan Sanchez (Hamilton West) 17-10 (Dec 12-5)157-Max Pollara (Hopewell Valley) 17-6 won by decision over Daniel Figueroa (Hamilton West) 23-4 (Dec 12-8)165-Taylor Adams (Robbinsville) 8-5 won by fall over Stephen Moore (Allentown) 2-2 (Fall 1:54)175-Nathaniel Geddis (Allentown) 3-1 won by decision over Carlos Rueda (Hamilton West) 19-7 (Dec 4-1)190-Jacob Kramer (Hightstown) 25-5 won by fall over Cristian Eagleton (Hamilton West) 17-8 (Fall 5:18)215-Anthony Inverso (Robbinsville) 23-5 won by decision over Gavin Barker (Hopewell Valley) 14-6 (Dec 4-2)285-Malcolm Louissaint (Nottingham) 19-7 won in the ultimate tie breaker over Nicholas Laquara (Allentown) 2-2 (UTB 4-2) ...read more read less